More bike paths coming in NYC

A visit to Denmark last year was eye opening for me. There bicyclists have priority, even over pedestrians. They are also out there even in the snow because there are crews dedicated to keeping the bike lanes clear. Of course the very high price of automobiles is a motivation, but that’s a model that would be easy to follow. Fossil fuel guzzling multiple thousands of pounds vehicles to transport one or two humans hardly makes sense except in extraordinary circumstances or long journeys.

After Spike in Deaths, New York to Get 250 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes

The city will build the lanes as part of a $1.7 billion street safety plan to be adopted by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council.

An intersection in Brooklyn where a 10-year-old boy riding his bicycle was killed by a car.Credit…Calla Kessler/The New York Times

Riding
a bicycle in New York City is often a harrowing journey across a
patchwork of bike lanes that leave cyclists vulnerable to cars. The
dangers came into focus this year after 25 cyclists were killed on city
streets — the highest toll in two decades.

Now Mayor Bill de Blasio and
the City Council have agreed on a $1.7 billion plan that would sharply
expand the number of protected bike lanes as part of a sweeping effort
to transform the city’s streetscape and make it less perilous for
bikers.

Its chief proponent, Corey Johnson, the City Council speaker, calls it nothing less than an effort to “break the car culture.’’

Such
ambitions show how far New York has come since around 2007 when the
city, under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, started aggressively taking away
space for cars by rolling out bike lanes and pedestrian plazas.

Under
pressure from the City Council, the city would be required to build 250
miles of protected bike lanes in the coming years, along with a
dizzying list of other street upgrades that safety advocates have long
called for. The city now has about 1,250 miles of bike lanes, including
126 miles on city streets that are protected, meaning that a barrier
separates the lanes from vehicles.

“New
Yorkers know that the way we get around our city right now makes no
sense,” said Mr. Johnson, who is expected to run for mayor in 2021. “Our
streets have been really poorly planned in a piecemeal fashion.”

Cities
like Los Angeles and Washington are expanding their bike networks, but
New York’s plans are far more expansive. San Diego plans to build 70 miles of new bike lanes, while Cambridge, Mass., set rules this year to add protected lanes on all rebuilt roads. Copenhagen is the international model for bike infrastructure, with about 250 miles of protected bike lanes.

The
bike lanes proposed in New York are a key part of Mr. Johnson’s
so-called Streets Master Plan, a bill that is expected to be approved by
the City Council on Wednesday. Mr. de Blasio’s administration had
expressed concerns about the bill, but the mayor is now on board and
says he will sign it.

“We
know redesigning New York City’s streets will help us end tragic,
preventable traffic deaths,” Will Baskin-Gerwitz, a mayoral spokesman,
said in a statement. “Mayor de Blasio and his team have worked hard with
the Council to hone ambitious new goals that will save lives.”

The plan could face many challenges. Bike lanes have often faced fierce opposition, including lawsuits and resistance from community boards
that balk at having parking spaces removed and worry about the impact
on local residents and businesses. The city’s Department of
Transportation would also have to move quickly to add workers and
equipment to carry out so many construction projects at once.

The
bill calls for the Transportation Department to release a plan every
five years to make streets safer and to prioritize public transit,
starting in December 2021. The city must hit targets every year,
including building 150 miles of bus lanes that are physically separated
from other traffic lanes or monitored by cameras over five years.

Mr.
de Blasio has completed 100 miles of protected bike lanes since 2014,
but the City Council’s plan is more aggressive and reflect Mr. Johnson’s
disdain for cars.

The
City Council has become increasingly eager to make its mark and to push
Mr. de Blasio, who recently ended a failed presidential bid, on key
issues.

“This is the Council playing a
much bigger role in governance and trying to resolve some issues they
see that the mayor was not going to tackle,” said Jon Orcutt, a longtime
transit advocate and former city transportation official.

Mr. Orcutt pointed to a younger generation of Council members who ride bikes or want new lanes in their districts, like Antonio Reynoso and Carlos Menchaca.

After
the recent spate of cyclist deaths, Mr. de Blasio’s administration
pledged to add 30 miles of protected bike lanes a year, up from an
average of 20 miles per year over the past three years.

The
Streets Master Plan calls for 30 miles of protected bike lanes in the
first year and 50 miles in each subsequent year. The city must also
build 20 miles of bus lanes that are protected by a barrier or camera
enforcement in the first year and at least 30 miles every year after.

The
official who oversees the subway and buses, Andy Byford, said he
supported Mr. Johnson’s streets plan and its focus on expanding bus
lanes.

“Early
results from the dedicated busway on 14th Street show the huge
passenger benefits that can be gained from giving transit priority,” Mr.
Byford said in a statement.

The plan would also create bus lanes that are protected by a barrier or camera enforcement.Credit…Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times

Mr.
de Blasio made street safety one of his signature initiatives shortly
after he took office in 2014. His plan, known as Vision Zero, aims to
eliminate traffic deaths by 2024.

Vision Zero has shown progress in recent years, bringing the number of traffic fatalities down to record lows. But the rise in cyclist deaths this year has alarmed safety advocates.

Mr.
de Blasio’s office said the streets plan “builds on the foundations the
Mayor has built over the last several years under Vision Zero.”

But
Mr. de Blasio and his transportation commissioner, Polly Trottenberg,
had raised concerns about the aggressive timeline set by Mr. Johnson.
Mr. de Blasio said in a radio interview last month that he agreed on the
goals of the streets plan, but said it would be difficult to implement.

“I
agree with him on his analysis of needing to reorient our society away
from cars,” Mr. de Blasio said. “I agree with him that we need to be
aggressive in terms of bike lanes and bus lanes. I think the dissonance
here is about how we figure out achievable goals.”

To
gain Mr. de Blasio’s support, Mr. Johnson’s office agreed to push back
the start date for the first streets plan, from this month to December
2021, around the time the next mayor takes office. Until then, the city
will keep its current commitment to build 30 miles of protected bike
lanes each year.

At
a City Council hearing in June, Ms. Trottenberg said her agency would
need billions of dollars in additional funding to implement the plans,
along with new staff members, offices and construction equipment.

“Achieving the targets in the bill as drafted would require a significantly reconfigured agency,” Ms. Trottenberg said.

The streets plan is expected to cost about $1.7 billion over 10 years, according to estimates from Mr. Johnson’s office.

The
bill also calls for installing so-called transit signal priority at 750
intersections during the first year and 1,000 intersections per year
after that. Transit signal priority is a system that allows buses to turn traffic lights green to speed them up. The city must also create one million square feet of pedestrian space in the first two years.

Mr.
Orcutt, who now works at the advocacy group Bike New York, praised the
plan and said it formalized the idea of a citywide, interconnected bike
network into law. He said the city’s request to push back the start date
was reasonable because building 50 miles of protected bike lanes per
year is a significant jump from the current rate.

“It’s going to take more people and more outreach,” he said. “There are some real logistical hurdles to hitting these targets.”